Words and Images By: Taylor Gilliam

All was right in the world when Bad Suns announced a proper Phoenix date for their Mystic Truth Tour supporting their album of the same name. Their shortened free-radio-show set earlier this year left fans unsatisfied, meaning they were more than ready to go all out in downtown Phoenix’s venue The Van Buren on October 11 – making for the perfect Friday night.

While the opening acts, Ultra Q and Liily, added some darker, heavier undertones to the bill, in doing that they highlighted Bad Suns as legitimate rockers—another side of the band than what’s showcased on alt rock radio with singles like, “Cardiac Arrest” and “Disappear Here.” They were tough acts to follow, but Bad Suns have the star power from years of building upon their Transpose EP and perennial favorite, Language & Perspective.

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Ultra Q may look like a new artist upon searching them on streaming platforms, but the band is a resurrection of Mt. Eddy. Wanting to pursue a “weirder” sound, the Oakland group put their previous project to rest and then broke the silence earlier this year with single “Redwood.” It’s the first step in a new direction, shedding the descriptor of Dreamers’ little brother band and establishing themselves as more evolved musicians from who they were in high school. The rebrand has come with tours, a spot at Riot Fest 2019, and new fans who screamed their approval throughout Ultra Q’s set.

If you weren’t ready, you would have been in total shock about 30 seconds into Liily’s set. Their onstage energy is jagged punk, and vocalist, Dylan Nash, thrashes around the stage, only pausing to stare down the crowd. Meanwhile, drummer Maxx Morando, is equally intense, a blur of body-shaking rhythm. If any one track encompasses all the elements, it’s “Sold,” which balloons in a live show setting so the vocals rise to shouts, the guitar howls, the bass thumps, and the drum solo signals this band isn’t here to mess around.

Thankfully there was a moment for everyone to catch their breath after Liily left the stage, but the subsequent shrieks were positively rabid when Christo Bowman, Ray Libby, Gavin Bennett, and Miles Morris assembled. “The things I do for this band!” was one distinct screech from the front row, but it was drowned out by the first notes of “Away We Go.”

With the cover art inspiration of Mystic Truth draped behind them, Bad Suns worked their way through a setlist spanning their six years as a band and drawing almost evenly from Language & Perspective, Disappear Here, and Mystic Truth. It was a perfect curation and a feel-good mood, the kind only familiar favorites can create. But, perhaps a better summary comes from the name of the closing track, the one that (mostly) everyone enjoyed with their phones put away and dancing with drinks held high: “One Magic Moment.”